50 Days in Hell
by Andrew And Tony
Summary: Shauntell is stuck on a zombie-infested island. Can he and his friends survive this undead onslaught until the helipcoters arrive to transport them to safety? Read and Find out...
1. Prologue

Alright here's my next story. Hope you all enjoy it, and please give me feedback. For those who are not in this chapter and I promised you a part in the story, you will be added soon enough.

Prologue

Shauntell sprinted with all of the strength his legs would lend him. There was no way in hell that helicopter would take off without him. Especially not with those horrid monsters behind him. His half torn T-shirt flapping in the wind created by his run for survival. He looked over his right shoulder, ignoring the gaping hole that was allowing blood to splatter to the ground below.

He heard a hellish screech behind him, which spurred him to run faster. He pulled all reserves of strength from inside of him, and ran for his life. The helicopter rotors began spinning ferociously, signaling to Shauntell that his time was almost up. Ten meters separated him from survival. His head was spinning, every muscle in his body begging for mercy. The helicopter began rising into the air, and Shauntell screamed for them to stop.

So you're probably wondering how this all started, right?

It began on a regular day, with a regular guy, and his regular friends. Well, maybe not a guy who could be classified as "regular". By the time you're a star athlete, all regularity has left your lifestyle. Shauntell was 6'3", 195 pounds, and had a well toned body. He was a professional running back for a national football team, and he did his job well. He worked hard, lived honest, and enjoyed simple things.

One such simplicity was spending time with his friends. Shauntell had great friends who didn't see the superstar, but rather the man who was the superstar. On this particular day, he was having a cook-out at his estate. He had his closest friends there, and the day seemed great. Shauntell was grilling some steak when he saw his friend Anthony and flagged him over.

Anthony had short blond hair, thin arms, and an ever present scowl on his face. Shauntell greeted his friend of three years and asked him his daily question.

"So Tony," Shauntell said without looking up from the grill, "What are you frowning about today?"

Tony paused, and then began in a low, rumbling voice, "The sun is too bright. It's making my eyes hurt"

Shauntell laughed, "Can you find something wrong with every day?"

Tony looked around, and then smiled "If I really wanted to… yes" With that Tony left. Shauntell looked up to see the other guests at his party. Near the pool stood Abigail and her boyfriend Carter. Abigail had long brown hair, brown eyes, and a well filled out body. She was a multi-talented performer, who starred in everything from movies to making her own albums. Her current hit was a song called "Fidelity".

On the other side of the pool were two girls in the middle of chatting. One of them was Sydney. She had darkish hair with a single platinum blonde strip near her face. Shauntell did not particularly know her well, but he knew the girl talking to her.

The other girl had brown hair, dark eyes, and was decently tall. This was Yvonne, a journalist for a local newspaper. She was very relaxed about life, making her easy to get along with. She saw Shauntell and waved at him. He waved back and looked for more friends.

He found one examining a statue in the middle of a fountain. He identified the man as Nicholas. This was his friend since grade school, a dependable friend who was always there when you needed him to be. The short, black-headed Italian had always supported Shauntell.

Shauntell finished grilling and they headed inside. They had a great party that seemed to last for ages. It began to rain, and Shauntell told his friends they could stay over if they wanted. After all, he lived in a huge mansion with a multitude of rooms. They all agreed, and so at around 12 o'clock they all headed to their respective rooms.

Then, at around 3:30 AM, all hell broke loose. Shauntell awoke to the sounds of sirens and screaming, indicating that something was not as it should be. He ran out of his room to find a figure at the bottom of his staircase.

"Who are you?" Shauntell yelled, "What are you doing here?" The figure made no response. It looked up at Shauntell, revealing blood red eyes and yellowish, mottled skin. Shauntell jumped back, and the figure rushed at him. Shauntell slammed the door shut and ran to his closet to grab his gun.

The thing slammed into his door, thoroughly denting it. Another slam broke the door completely down, and Shauntell took a good look at what his adversary was. It looked human at first glance, however upon closer inspection it was revealed to be something entirely different. Its arm was bent awkwardly, indicating that it was broken. Its head hung nonchalantly from its neck, which had a large section of flesh missing. It pulled its head up, which allowed Shauntell to note the dried blood around its mouth.

Without further hesitation, Shauntell unloaded three rounds into the creature's head. It dropped like a stone, and Shauntell took a sigh or relief. He ran downstairs, where he was met by all of his companions.

"What the hell is going on?" Tony asked

"I don't know. I just got attacked by a zombie thing." Shauntell said quickly. He shuddered slightly at the remembrance of what had transpired only mere minutes earlier. Just then, his cell phone rang. He answered, and was chilled by the message.

"Hello, this is a reverse 911 signal. If you are receiving this message, you are asked to please evacuate your home…" Shauntell hung up. He looked around, slightly confused and distressed. But he shook that out, and began thinking about a plan. He then remembered the private helicopter he had invested a large portion of his money into. It would be dangerous to fly it in the rain, but apparently it would be more dangerous to stay on the island.

"I have a helicopter. It has enough room for the six of us, and Tony knows how to fly one. Right Tony?" Shauntell asked.

Tony sighed, "Yes. But I wouldn't advise it in this weather"

"Well we have to get off the island. That's our only chance if we're in real danger." Yvonne said.

Shauntell looked back at his room, "Yeah I'm pretty sure we're in immediate danger"

Shauntell lead them to a special room in the back of the mansion which housed his helicopter. They brought with them some food, water, and weapons to be on the safe side. They piled into the chopper, and Shauntell began to get a bad feeling in the pit of his gut. Regardless, they took off into the stormy night. Shauntell put his head down and tried to get some sleep, despite the bumpy ride.

Shauntell awoke to hear the sounds of alerts ringing and Tony screaming "May day" into the radio. The next thing he saw, he immediately knew one should never see in a helicopter. The next thing he saw, and felt, was the cold, hard ground.


	2. Chapter One

Here's the first official chapter. More characters will be added here, but we'll have some left over yet. Enjoy, review, and don't forget to read the prologue before this!

Chapter One

Shauntell slowly opened one of his eyes. His whole body ached, and he felt something wet on his face. He brought his hand to his face, and felt the blood steadily flowing down his forehead. He looked at himself closely, noting all the scratches, cuts, and bruises. It was nothing he couldn't handle, but it hurt nonetheless. The sun was blazing onto his back.

Then, it all came back to him. The reverse 911, the helicopter… that horrible creature attacking him. Memories came flooding back into his mind, as did his awareness. He looked around, and saw that his friends were all still unconscious. He sighed in relief, but then heard a steady dripping sound.

"What the hell is that?" He said to himself. He cautiously got up and walked towards the noise. It lead him out and to the side of the crashed helicopter. Shauntell saw a pool of liquid gathering beside the chopper. Shauntell squatted and took a good whiff of the substance.

'Ugh. That must be gasoline…' he thought to himself. After about a second, that registered in his brain. He leapt up and ran back into the crashed aircraft. His friends were still not awake. He then made the decision to take them out to safety.

Carefully, he took each person and brought them down under the shade of a nearby tree. After that, he grabbed all supplies and weapons that they had brought with them and rested them near his companions. He then made sure to get his friends farther away from the helicopter. If it exploded, he didn't want to be anywhere near it.

Finally, his friends began to come to. One by one, they too began assessing the situation. All of them were bruised to some extent, though none quite like Nick. His arm was bending in the wrong direction, obviously signaling a broken arm. Tony fixed him a splint and sling, for which Nick was grateful. Once most everyone was awake, they all sat down and discussed their options.

"Alright we need to get in contact with somebody," Shauntell said.

"Yeah. We have to find out what's going on," Sydney said quietly.

"What about the radio on the helicopter?" Yvonne started, "We could use that to contact somebody."

"No that radio got fried by the crash," Tony said.

"So then what do we do?" Abigail asked.

"Well I saw a road nearby. Maybe there's a town close to here." Nick said.

"Alright that sounds like a good idea. Tony, start packing up some of the supplies. Nick, see about distributing the weapons. My guess is that the reverse 911 had something to do with that creature that attacked me." Shauntell said as he stood up. Those two went to their duties, while Shauntell helped everyone with their injuries.

After about an hour, everyone was armed and supplied. They headed out and found the road Nick had referred to earlier. They headed up the road and after about an hour found a sign. It read:

Welcome to Bull Run

Population: 294

Shauntell looked beyond the sign to see a small town. He looked back at his friends, all of them exhausted of traveling for an entire day. They traveled the last mile quickly, but they soon realized that this small town was not as it seemed. As they entered the town, they saw the carnage that seemed to match any war zone's description. Cars were on fire, buildings had doors knocked in, and there were bullet holes in every wall.

"Hello?" Nick yelled into the air. Echoes answered him. Suddenly, he got an answer.

"Are you one of those monsters?" A voice asked.

"What monsters?" Nick asked

"Those things! They bite you, and then you join them" the voice said fearfully.

"No. We're trying to get off of this island. We need a radio to contact somebody to get us out of here." Nick responded. Slowly, the person he was talking to revealed their person. It was a girl with brown hair, large eyes, and was well developed. She had scratches all over herself, only deepening Shauntell's theory of a battle.

"Come quickly! It is nearly night time! That's when they come out!" the girl said quickly. Without question, they all ran into the building. Shauntell looked back at the sky, and saw that the sun was setting. They ran into the large building, and they closed the doors tightly behind them.

Inside the building there were about twenty people, all looking battered and bruised. All of them had a weapon of some sort, whether it was a wrench or a shotgun. The girl led them through the crowd to a smaller sub-group. It was her, a large man who looked to be about seven feet tall, and another girl, though this one had blond hair.

"This is Monroe," The original girl said, indicating to the man "And this is Lauren. My name is Bailey"

"I'm Shauntell, and that's-," He started, but he got cut off by one of the people on the other side of the building.

"They're here! Everyone get into your positions!" yelled an old man with one eye. Bailey led the group through a scrambling crowd of people. Apparently, her position was right in front of the main door. They grabbed three rifles from a small cache, distributed them, and then sat in their position. The only thing preventing them from getting eaten alive was a large Iron double door, and about twelve crates formed in a makeshift wall.

Shauntell's group stuck with them. Obviously they were a tad confused and slightly scared.

"What's going on?" Shauntell asked.

"They're here." Bailey said quietly. Suddenly, something charged the door, and dented it.

"Get ready" Monroe said. Then the door swung open, and Shauntell found himself in for the longest night of his life.


	3. Chapter Two

Sorry for the delay! I got grounded. Anyway we're on to chapter 2. Let's see what happens…

Chapter Two

The zombie stumbled towards Shauntell speedily, causing the athlete to flinch back. He withdrew his semi-automatic pistol and fired directly into the creature's center of mass. The zombie stumbled backwards, but quickly began walking towards Shauntell once more. Shauntell began firing more shots, but none seemed to do damage. What had allowed him to kill that zombie the day before?

Suddenly, a loud BOOM was heard and the zombie's head subsequently disappeared. Shauntell looked over to see Abigail wielding a shotgun. She turned back towards the door and began sighting another target. Shauntell quickly began figuring out how this worked. Though he did not understand the concept behind it, he realized that only shooting the head would kill a zombie.

He looked at the door to see at least eight undead beings stumbling through the door. He raised his pistol and fired two shots into one. Both hit the zombie's forehead, and it dropped to the tiled floor without another move. Confident that his theory was correct, he began picking off his adversaries with precision shots.

Shauntell's companions also were figuring this concept out. Yvonne and Sydney were a tough tandem to handle, as Yvonne's trigger happy style was balanced out by Sydeny's passive, patient handle. Nick and Monroe preferred closer combat with a machete, though they were careful not to get too close.

Tony used a semi-automatic rifle with shocking efficiency, making one shot kills of any zombie in his line of fire. Bailey and Lauren shot with efficiency, both in terms of ammo conservation and kills, though this was to be expected of two huntresses like themselves. Then there was Abigail. With a sadistic gleam in her eye, she and her "Boom stick" took out everything but her own self. But all together, it was a working, cohesive, and effective unit.

However the walking dead were not fazed by this efficient killing machine. They kept stumbling in, devoid of all thought but a primal and carnivoric hunger. Their numbers seemed to multiply by each passing minute. Nick and Monroe quickly ran back to the safety of the barricade. Abigail's shotgun began ringing out more and more, but each shot seemed to bring more zombies.

Suddenly, a scream rang out from another one of the groups. Soon, another scream emanated from another portion of the building. Shauntell began to get anxious, and he began to search for an alternate exit. He saw a hallway to his left, and saw that it was clear of members of the undead.

"Hey! We have to get out of here!" He yelled over the sound of gunfire,"Over here! Hurry!" Without question, everyone followed him through a crowd of dead bodies. They ran into the hallway, and Nick slammed the door shut behind them.

"Bailey!" Shauntell started quickly, "Is there a way to the roof? Or a fire exit or anything we can use to get out of here?"

"I think there's a back exit at the end of the hall." The exhausted girl stated.

"Well what good does that do us? There'll only be more zombies out there." Tony said wearily.

"There's a forest not far from here. We could camp out there for the night then come back and use the radio to find out what's going on tomorrow." Lauren said wisely.

"I'd agree with that plan. But we're going to have to have hard sprint to the forest" Monroe said.

"Alright then let's do it" Sydney said, hastily running to the door. Everyone followed, and gathered behind the door. Sydney asserted herself to point, then flung the door open and sprinted for her life. Everyone followed suit, and they were soon running past the ranks of the living dead.

Shauntell soon found himself in front, as he was easily the fastest. After about a minute, he began to slow down. He was well beyond the immediate danger that was in the town. After about another minute, all of his friends were joining him. They quickly walked across the remaining distance to the forest without any disturbances.

As they arrived to the outskirts of the woods exhausted. Monroe laid down the moment they arrived. They had covered around half-a-mile in around five minutes, so everyone was tired. But, they still were in bad territory. Some zombies could've seen them run and followed. Whatever the situation, they had to be alert.

"Nick, you take guard for now" Shauntell said, "After about an hour, wake me up."

"Got it" He responded tirelessly. Shauntell curled up under his jacket and drifted off to sleep. Not long after, he was jolted awake by the crack of gunfire. Groggily, he rose and looked around. Nick had his rifle leveled and fired another round.

"What's going on?" Shauntell asked

"See for yourself" Nick responded simply. Shauntell looked over to the hills that his friend was indicating to. At first it seemed as if the hills were moving. But Shauntell quickly realized that it was an army of undead souls marching for them. He fully awoke and ran for a rifle.

"EVERBODY GET UP!! EVERYBODY GET UP!!" he screamed. Everyone awoke slowly, but all soon were scrambling for weapons. Though all knew their effort was futile, they shot anyway. They turned to run into the forest, but the dead were soon slouching towards them through the tree line. With no where to run or hide, a few of the group dropped their weapons and began praying. Shauntell was among them, feeling mortal fear for the first time in his life.

Suddenly, the hills erupted into a mass of flaming body parts and rubble. Sniper shots rang out as the dead were cut down in massive amounts. Another explosion erupted behind them in the forest. A hail of bullets continued to pelt the undead forces until just a mound of burning bodies was left.

Shauntell was shocked. In a matter of minutes, what seemed like the apocalypse had reversed itself. He looked around at what could've created such a miracle. He found it in the form of a small group of people walking out from the burning woods. In the front was a girl with orange hair, a thin body, and a rocket launcher on her shoulder. To her left was a man with curly blond hair, cerulean eyes, and a muscular build. To their right was another man who had brown hair, brown eyes, and a wiry frame.

Shauntell could think of only one thing to ask:

"Who are you guys?"

The response:

"Your saviors"


	4. Chapter Three

Sorry for the delay guys. I got grounded among other things so I couldn't do anything. Anyway read and review please.

**Disclaimer: The actions of Shauntell in no way, shape, or form reflect upon me or my thoughts.**

Chapter 3

Shauntell looked at the girl. She looked like an angel for a moment. Then he noted the rocket launcher on her shoulder and discarded the thought. The blond man to her left extended his hand to Shauntell. Shauntell went to take it, but fatigue rolled over him mercilessly. He lifted his hand, but could do no more. He collapsed into a heap on the ground.

____----THE NEXT DAY---___

Shauntell awoke with a start. He looked around, fear gripping him for a second. Where were his friends? Where was his gun? Where was he? His mind raced with these questions and more. He closed his eyes again, hoping that this was just a bad dream that would soon go away.

"Calm down. It's alright, you're safe" a feminine voice said to him. It was soothing and smooth.

"Yeah, for now" a deeper voice said.

"Oh yeah? Well then you can SHUT UP," The previously smooth voice exploded with sarcastic fury, then quickly resettled. Shauntell finally opened his eyes. Above him sat a very beautiful girl. She had brown hair in a ponytail, blue eyes, and looked to be just a few years younger than he and his friends. He slowly sat up and absorbed his environment, which in this case was a tent.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You passed out, probably due to severe exhaustion or from a severe after shock effect" the man said. It was the same man who had offered his hand. The man walked over and held his hand out again. Shauntell took it gingerly.

"Hogan" the man said simply. Shauntell realized shortly thereafter that this was the man's name

"Shauntell Jackson" he responded. He looked over at the girl questioningly.

"Anna," she said. She flashed him a smile, and then went back to whatever she seemed to be doing. He looked again at the man.

"Umm… my friends. Are they…?" Shauntell began.

"All sleeping in different tents." Hogan said without expression.

"Alright." He stood up without another word and walked out of the tent. Daylight shone through the trees as he walked into the heart of the camp. Several tents of varying sizes were set up in a circle. Everyone in the camp was moving quickly. A few of these people were with Shauntell's group.

"Hey what's going on?" He asked Nick.

"They're packing up" he responded, looking down at his injured arm.

"Oh. Where are they going?"

"I don't know. They're trying to get off of this godforsaken island"

"Hmm… do you think we should just go with them?"

"No. They don't know where exactly they're going. To be meandering around while the walking dead are here is utter madness"

"True. So then what do you think we should do?"

"I'm not sure. Probably go back to Bull Run, use the radio, and find out what to do from there."

"Sounds good enough I guess. I'll go ahead and tell the others." Shauntell rose and walked into the tents to awaken his comrades. Some were awake, while others had to be stirred. Once everyone was awake, they took their guns and went back to the town. They walked with a sense of caution well around them. They got back to the small town in around thirty minutes, though town could no longer describe the scene. Corpses littered the streets, and a fresh coating or dark, red blood covered the town.

The group moved quickly through the town, trying to pay no attention to the half-eaten bodies that lay lifelessly around them. They moved to the city hall, the building hey were in the previous night.

With Bailey and Lauren acting as guides, they navigated through confusing hallways and such to finally get to the radio control room. Upon entering, they saw the previous radio host dead, portions of flesh missing and at his arm, entire limbs. Shauntell sat in the room and picked up the radio. He began sending out signals on all frequencies to get anyone to respond.

"This is Shauntell Jackson. My friends and I are trapped on an island infested with zombie-like creatures. We need to know what is going on and what we need to do. Over." Shauntell's message broadcasted for thirty minutes until he finally got an answer.

"This is Major General Beck speaking. I have received your distress signal. Over," a gruff voice said over the radio.

"Thank god! General what's going on?" Shauntell asked.

The general sighed, "We're not totally sure yet. But I'll tell you what you need to know. First off, they are, in fact, zombies. However the zombification process is nothing supernatural. It is caused by a rare virus called _Solanum_. This virus is always fatal, as there is no cure to date. The virus infects one's brain, where its cells begin multiplying and it eventually shuts down all other organ systems. At this point, the person is pronounced dead. However, the virus still has the brain alive. After about 24 hours of infection, the host is reanimated into a zombie. This zombie has but one function: eat. We don't understand why, but all we know is that they desire to feed on human flesh."

Shauntell looked at his group. They were all frightened at this news. Somehow, in some way, this was terrifying beyond all other things Shauntell had ever faced, but he continued listening:

"Thankfully, the virus is not found in nature and there are no strains transmittable by air, contact, or water. The only way to get it is from the bite of a zombie. To kill a zombie, you must destroy the brain. Nothing else will kill or even affect it. After killing zombies, burn the bodies, as the flesh is still highly toxic."

"Sir if I may interrupt you for a second. We don't plan on staying here. We have limited supplies and we need to get off this island! Over." Shauntell interjected.

"Ah thank you for bringing that up. In 50 days, we will be quarantining the island. If you want to get off of the island, you need to get to Union City by then. We will make one trip everyday to pick people up. If you come after the fifty day pick up, we'll have to leave you. Is everything clear? Over."

"Yes, General Beck. Thank you. Over." Shauntell said

"Godspeed. Over and out."

Shauntell glanced over at his group. They exchanged worried looks with one another, but Shauntell quickly began thinking of a plan.

"Alright. We need to go back to the camp, tell them what we've heard, and convince them to go to Union City." He said. No one asked a question. They all wanted to get out of this town and get back to where they felt safer.

Quickly, they ran back to the camp and presented their idea. It was met easily with ridicule.

"No! Union City's three weeks away walking. Meanwhile, we've got a ship waiting for us just a week away in Tobias!" Joe, the brown haired, wiry one, said.

"Yeah that's just ridiculous!" The red-haired girl said.

"We're telling you what the General Beck said! If you go to Tobias, you'll get eaten alive!" Monroe said.

"Whatever." The redhead said. "Alright let's start moving out. The sooner we leave the sooner we get there." Her voice trailed off as her attention switched to the people in her squad."

Shauntell felt defeated. But he did feel some redemption as he saw Anna and Hogan walk over to his group. With two new people in the group and now finally a destination, they set off on their three week journey to salvation.


	5. Chapter Four

I must apologize to some people. I promised some of you a part, but after consultation with an advisor I realize that won't be able to add you all. My sincerest apologies.

Chapter Four

Shauntell ran a stick through the burning pile of embers. The group was now five days into the journey, and frustration was beginning show. The group never talked while traveling, and there were only whispers when camping at night. As they had passed through farmlands and other lowly populated areas, they seemed to go without fighting a single zombie. But now, they were coming up on one of the largest cities on the island, and the group was split on what to do.

"We should go straight through the city!" Yvonne proclaimed, "We could pick up supplies on the way, and maybe even a car or something to move quicker"

"What good would that do us?" Tony said, "Look this is really simple. Why are cities big?"

"Because they have a lot of people. She's not stupid" Abby said impatiently.

"Well apparently you are. If there are more people, that means more zombies. That's why we haven't seen any lately. No one lives out in the country, so no one can get infected. We're going into the most highly populated city on the island. If you tell me that there are less than 500 zombies in there you are crazy" Tony said.

He shuffled through his pocket and pulled out a revolver. He slipped a single bullet into the chamber, and handed it to the girl in front of him.

"Here. This is an easier way of committing suicide" He said stone-facedly. She pushed away the pistol, understanding what he meant. The group was silent, all contemplating their own plan. Easily, the shortest distance was through the heart of the city. The traverse around the city would take days longer, as the metropolitan area covered a huge amount of land. Indeed, the decision was tough either way.

Finally, Lauren broke the silence.

"I think we should go through the city. Even if we go around, there would still be a lot of zombies. We might as well go through the city and try to get through it as fast as we can."

Shauntell was well in favor for getting through this whole ordeal as fast as possible. However, he was also in favor of living. The trip through the city would take two, possibly three days. This was also counting the fact that traveling by night was more challenging both physically and mentally.

"Alright," he concluded, "That's what we'll do. We'll have no time to waste. By tomorrow, we'll be in the city. We travel fast and quiet. I don't like getting unwanted attention."

Tony made a scoffing sort of sound, but he went along with it. They all went o sleep, Nick expertly watching guard, and slept soundly. Though they did not know it, it would be one of their last peaceful nights for a while.

____---- THE NEXT DAY----____

Everyone was up bright and early that following morning. Tony was sitting alone, cleaning his pistol, while everyone else helped pack up and prepare. Shauntell walked over to his friend, who was overlooking the once bustling metropolis of Mar Del Azul. The beginning of the city must've been only a mile away.

"What are you thinking about?" Shauntell asked.

"How the hell we're going to live through this," Tony said somberly, "Even you know this is going to be impossible. Five hundred thousand people one lived here. Even with its evacuation, you realize that there will be an undead army in there."

"Yes, but everyone agrees to this plan. I can't have split group this early into the trip. If we stick together, we'll be fine." The professional footballer said.

"You say it, but do you mean it?"

The statement stunned Shauntell. Did he mean it? After all, he knew that the chosen path was considerably more dangerous than going around. Would time truly help? After all what were a few days if the journey only took three weeks and they had a fifty day limit? But Shauntell swallowed his thoughts and gave a resounding answer.

"Yes. I know we'll make it out."

Tony sighed, shook his head, and walked off. Shauntell followed, and they finished packing everything in a timely manner. They walked down the hill they were on, and entered the city.

It was not like the previous town: a war zone, covered in blood and bullets. Instead, it just looked deserted. Everything was still in its place. Clear streets, barren sidewalks, and empty windows: indeed the scene was eerie. Every sound they made reverberated through the city. Every footstep sounded like a gunshot, and every word like an explosion.

The group snaked their way through the barren streets, quiet as a cat. Cars were checked for undead passengers, and the same was done for stores. They entered grocery stores and took what they could, while also attempting to find new and better weapons.

Suddenly, they heard a noise. It was quiet at first, but it seemed to get louder and closer. It was coming right at them from down the street. They al withdrew their weapons and prepared for the worst. Nothing could prepare them for what they saw.

It was a man, completely naked, streaking down the streets screeching an Indian war cry-like sound. In his hands were two pots, which he was banging together with ear-splitting results.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Monroe yelled at him. The man stopped and looked. He saw them, and yelled back.

"Follow me! The horde is about to come and they'll tear you to shreds!" He yelled.

"What horde?" Sydney asked. As if right on que, they saw a mass of undead bodies sprinting at them from about thirteen blocks down from their position. The man ran again, continuing to make his racket. With no other choices, the group dashed after him, also yelling into the sky.

He led them to a hotel just a few blocks from where they were. The zombies seemed to get closer and closer with each step. Their guide led them through the former courtyard of the hotel, which was scorched and charred, and then past stacks of concrete barricades. They went up the building, to the top floor, and then crashed into an iron door.

"Let us in! Please let us in!" Bailey pleaded through the door. A deep voice returned her pleas.

"Not until Geoffrey says to!"

"We're about to get killed! Please open the door!" Abby added.

"Not until Geoffrey says it's safe!"

"Damnit! You'd better let us in or I'll blow this door down!" Anna snarled.

"Still not opening the door"

The man in the nude walked to the door and spoke calmly.

"It's alright, Garrett, you can let them in." The door opened and the group piled in desperately. Next to the window, a younger girl with dark hair and eyes dark as coal stood with an RPG on her shoulder.

"Can I go yet?" She asked

The man, Geoffrey, nodded. The girl leapt for joy and then steadied her aim; she fired her explosive round into the horde of zombies and sent them to hell. She placed another explosive head on the machine, and fired yet another explosive head into the remaining crowd.

Then, the two men in the room began throwing Molotov cocktails from the window, and then yet another woman picked up an SMG and began unloading on the survivors. The girl with the RPG put it down, and then picked up a Dragunov from the ground and picked off those survivors.

Once all of them were dead and gone, the courtyard was doused with water, and removed of rotting corpses. Finally, everyone sat down in the fortified room, and began talking on what had just transpired.


	6. Chapter Five

Alrighty time for chapter five. I won't even apologize, seeing as half of you won't even read this section. Second story is still in the planning stages so hold tight as I get those facts together. BTW there will be several follow up Chapter Fives. You'll see why at the end. Anyway, on to Chapter five.

Chapter Five

They sat around the table, a dim light enveloping the room in homely warmth. Shauntell wiped the sweat from his forehead as he began to calm down. The older of the two girls brought out a tray of mugs, all filled with whiskey. The man named Geoffrey took the initiative and grabbed his mug.

"I'm sorry we couldn't have a more formal meeting. My Name is Geoffrey." He pointed his finger to the girl who just laid the mugs down.

"This is my sister, Ashley," She smiled, her blue eyes glistening in the fading sun, and Geoffrey directed his hand to the younger girl, "My niece, Missy,"

The other man stood up. He looked to be as tall as Monroe, or even larger. The only thing larger than his own body was his dark curly hair, which seemed to escalate an extra few inches above his head. He introduced himself as Garrett. They drank happily as Shauntell introduced all of those in his group.

"So Shauntell, what has brought you through this city?"

"I'm happy you asked. We talked to an army general who said that a quarantine was going into effect after 50 days. That was about a week ago. They are picking people up at Union City, once a week. We're about another two weeks away, but when you consider weather and other stoppages, it'll be about three." The athlete said.

"Hmmmm…. So I suppose you'll be on your way soon?" Geoffrey asked.

"Yes. As a matter of fact we didn't plan on stopping today." Hogan cut in.

"Well you wouldn't mind if we- you know- joined you, would you?" Geoffrey asked.

Shauntell looked at his group. Their numbers were already large for what they were trying to accomplish. Anything over 10 people was simply begging for bad things to happen. But, they had weapons and apparently experience using those same weapons.

Shauntell's eyes moved over to the younger girl, Missy. She was taking apart her weapon and cleaning it. She had each part placed in an organized pattern. She cleaned, oiled, and put back each piece with expert care. Soon, she had a fully functional M1 Carbine at her disposal. This was encouraging to Shauntell.

"Uhh you wouldn't mind if I talk to my friends about this, would you?"

"Of course take your time" Geoffrey said warmly. He stroked his goatee and sat down. Shauntell and his friends huddled together. He opened statements neutrally.

"I don't care either way. What are your opinions?"

"No. I don't like being in this city to begin with. You saw how many zombies followed us here. They'll find us within minutes" Tony said.

"I say yes. The more, the safer." Sydney said.

"Tony's got a point. I say no" Hogan said.

"Yes! Let them come!" Lauren pleaded. After this, Bailey chuckled, earning her some strange looks. Her face went tomato red as she continued in her small joke.

"Sure why not?" Abby said nonchalantly. Standing next to her was Anna, as the two had become inseparable friends over the last week. Anna spoke after her, in her loud voice.

"I agree with Abby!"

"Whatever gets us out of here faster" Nick said

"I'll go with whatever" Monroe said.

The whole group went with a feeling like that, so Tony's worries were ignored again, and they revealed the news to Geoffrey. They agreed to stay with Geoffrey for the rest of that day, and the day after that. After, they would leave the city, and head for Union City on the fastest path. All in acquiesced, they all found a place to sleep, with Nick and Missy alternating on guard.

Every now and again, the silent cough of Missy's Dragunov awoke Shauntell; however the stifling silence soon closed his tired eyes. But the silence was shattered by that hellish moaning. That noise would drive any man to insanity, and it lasted all night. No matter how hard he tried, it kept reverberating through his mind. It was unbearable. The night dragged on, and Shauntell never slept.

Finally, the sun crept over the skyscrapers and shone upon the city. The undead were not phased by the light, but it was psychologically lifting to see for Shauntell. His bloodshot eyes finally closed as his friends awoke and took care of what was left of their attackers. He slept for a few hours, and then awoke to a sweet, sweet voice, like honey. It was actually Anna, nearly screaming at him.

"Shauntell! Wake up you lazy ass! We've got work to do!" He awoke groggily, and questioned the ongoings of their last day in the city. Apparently, they would be gathering supplies for their journey. Because there was a large amount of necessities required, they divided into groups, and set out.


	7. Chapter Six

Alright the next four chapters all take place at the same time. Once they're all out, they may be read in any order. Anyway, let's see what happens.

Chapter Six

Shauntell was sent along with Missy and Bailey. This made him feel more comfortable, seeing as Bailey was a huntress and Missy was, well, Missy. They set out for the northern side of town, in search of whatever they could find. This was the residential district, ultimately making it the most dangerous district. For obvious reasons, they came loaded with weapons and ammo. The first stop would be the Grocery store.

Shauntell gripped his magnum a little bit tighter as they came up on the main entrance. Bailey gently pushed the door open, and they entered quietly. They had about seven hours before sunset, so they had time to thoroughly inspect the grocery store. Except for a few half-eaten corpses, it was devoid of inhabitance. The power was out, making it very hard to see anything. However, the trio finally found the gun section.

Among a collection of hunting rifles, there was a host of .22 caliber ammunition. For Bailey, it was a dream come true. She immediately dropped her old, worn rifle and grabbed a much newer and better one. Along with it, she grabbed some boxes of the .22 ammo. There was nothing else in that particular section that could help anyone else.

They progressed to the foods section, where anything in a can was taken. They cleared most of the aisles within seconds. Though the group had agreed upon "necessities only", Shauntell stole a few seconds to grab some whiskey from the store. Then, with the same silence and speed as which they came, they left.

They walked out into the bright open sun and relaxed. At least out in the open they could spot a zombie more easily. They left that building and progressed down the street, noiselessly. No words were spoken by anyone, as they continued down the street. Finally, they came across a gun shop, which was slightly unnerving upon first sight.

The windows were broken in, and there was a mass of blood at the front entrance. Against his better judgment, Shauntell turned back to his companions.

"We should stop by in there," he said.

"Why? Don't you see the blood right there?" Missy said blatantly.

"Yeah, but I also see weapons and ammo that we can use inside"

"Look; at best, there'll be one zombie in there."

"Yeah, and that's all we need to get us killed."

"And we only need one bullet to kill it. With all the ammo in there, it'll equate to more than a few dead zombies."

With an exasperated sigh, Missy gave in. Shauntell raced to the door, drew his magnum, and proceeded into the building. Upon the walls there was an arsenal of guns, using all types of ammunition. Immediately catching his eye was magnum ammunition, sitting in the plexi-glass case in the counter. Shauntell broke through with a quick jab, and took three cases.

He looked behind the counter and saw a display M1 Carbine. He jumped over the counter and grabbed the rifle. He took out the magazine, and to his surprise it was full. Why would a display gun be fully loaded? He checked a notch right above the trigger. Surprising him once more was the fact that the gun was not set on safety. Shauntell smiled wearily. The shop owner was smart enough to keep a fully functional semi-automatic weapon with his grasp.

Missy and Bailey walked in briskly. They too began picking up and examining guns. Shauntell jumped back over the counter and went to the far end of the store where the close range weapons were. He found precisely what he was looking for. Behind a glass case was a Japanese katana. The blade was 3 feet of folded steel that could cut through skin and bone: perfect for killing zombies. He took it out the sword, sheath and all, and strapped it to his belt. Suddenly, his name was called.

"Hey Shauntell! Come over here!" Missy voice said. He obliged, and made his way back to the front.

"Do you see any 7.62 rounds? My Dragunov is running low." She asked. Shauntell strained his eyes upon the different cases of ammo, but did not see any fit for a Dragunov.

"No I don't. But there might be some in the storage room in the back" He said as he turned and went that way. He walked to the back and opened the door. Immediately, a force threw him back. A zombie burst through the door, catching him unaware.

"Holy Shit!" he yelled. He went to draw his magnum, but it became stuck. The infected man shambled towards him quickly, its jaws prying open. Shauntell desperately tugged at his gun, but it would not come free. With his adrenaline pumping, he quickly began thinking of what to do. He unsheathed his new blade and tried to swing at the creature's head, but it ducked under and swatted the sword from his hand. It grabbed his arms and tried to bite him, but Shauntell fought with every inch of his well built muscle. However this thing fought equally hard with carnivoric hunger. Shauntell began to tire, but the zombie didn't.

Suddenly though, it gave up completely and dropped to the floor. Shauntell looked over to see Bailey, her new rifle still raised from its pioneer shot. She slung it over her shoulder, a giant smile on her face.

"Oh my god thank you Bailey!!" Shauntell said. He ran up and gave her a hug, showing his appreciation.

"Uhh sure." She said awkwardly. Missy watched the scene impatiently.

"Very cute. Now can we get out of here? Other zombies are sure to have heard the gunshot" She said already almost out of the door. They followed her out. Shauntell walked out of the shop just in time to see Missy inspecting a car.

"Hey this one's in pretty good shape. And the gas meter says it's full." She said touring around a large white truck. She looked at the driver's seat window and exclaimed, "Hey! The keys are in it too!"

She opened the door, and an alarm immediately went off. She stepped back as the truck's horn and alarm went off without end. Bailey and Shauntell looked in disbelief as the truck seemed to light up like neon sign saying "Dinner is served". Missy walked back to the car and turned off the alarm. She looked at her companions apologetically.

"And you said I was loud?" Bailey asked rhetorically. She got no response. Shauntell said nothing. He had but one instinct at that point: run. As fast as possible. Get away from the truck. This thought was confirmed by a moan in a house to their left. Shauntell turned to his friends.

"RUN! NOW!" And so they did. They ran from the horde of shambling undead bodies behind them. Finally, they lost them within the twists and turns of the concrete jungle. At that point, it was nearly sunset. The trio returned to the hotel, and subsequently slept upon arrival. The next day, they would leave for good.


	8. Chapter Seven

Alright we're on to Chapter 7. As I said before, chapters 6-9 can be read in any order once completed, seeing as they all occur in the same timeframe. BTW I won't write the next chapter unless I get one review from ten different people. That's the deal, so give me feedback. Anyway, here is our next group.

Chapter Seven

Nick looked over his shoulder at the two girls behind him. To him, the girls were little more than useless in case if an attack. His Uzi was stowed away in its holster, Nick's wary hand placed expertly atop it. He walked with a great caution upon his step, and the chatting companions behind him were nothing more than a nuisance.

Behind him, the new friends Abby and Anna were talking. In a matter of a week, they had become inseparable. They were talking of happier times and their lives before the virus. However they were smart conscious enough to know to not stray far from Nick. He didn't have a long temper.

The group stayed close, and continued their walk through the abandoned streets of downtown Mar Del Azul. This was primarily a business district, so they would only have to be wary of a few places. Nick took every bit of memory of this area into consideration while walking. It had been a long time since he had been there. A long time since he had visited home.

Nick understood that what he was doing was potentially deadly, and he could be risking the lives of others. But he wanted to know. He needed to know. Then he stopped cold. He had arrived. A window was broken, the door was torn from it hinges, and a pile of corpses sat on the steps. What a homecoming.

"Nick, what's wrong? Why are we stopping here?" Abby asked quizzically. She looked at the house wonderingly. She and Anna walked closer to the house, and then looked back at Nick. He hadn't moved. Abby asked again.

"Nick are you alright?" She reiterated, walking towards him. He advanced towards the house quietly. He withdrew his Uzi, and walked into the house. More bodies were on the floor. He ran into the kitchen. Blood dawned the walls.

"Mom! Dad! Are you here?" He called out. No response. He ran into the Living room. Nothing but blood and broken tables awaited him. He ran back out to the front of the house. Abby and Anna stepped in.

"Nick what are you doing?" Anna asked impatiently, her temper beginning to rise. Nick hardly seemed to hear her. He raced up the stairs, and opened a door. Suddenly, his footsteps stopped. His voice silenced, and Anna and Abby ran up to see what had happened. Nick stood in the doorway, looking at the bed that was his parents'. There were two corpses lying down, side by side. Their hands intertwined, and a note by the bed. Nick walked up and read the note. He dropped it and fell to his knees. Abby walked up and read the note. She quickly realized what had happened. She sat down next to Nick, but she didn't know what to say.

"Nick, at least they went quietly and painlessly. At least they went together."

He looked at her solemnly, but he nodded. They had work to do, and sitting and weeping would not help them through this mission. He stood up, and withdrew his gun. The three of them walked out of the room, and Nick gently closed the door behind them.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to the left. Nick immediately turned and aimed. It was the room that used to be his brother's. Now, he had no idea what inhabited it. He warily approached the door, and Abby and Anna got on the other side. Nick raised his gun, and flung the door open.

Across the room was a man covered in blood. His back was turned to Nick, so he couldn't see much about him. The man turned to look at Nick, and then completely turned around, revealing vibrant red eyes. Nick stared blankly.

"…Ren?" he asked, lowering his gun. He took a step forward, and then it attacked. The infected man ran at him and tackled him to the ground. Nick kicked it in the mouth, and it retaliated with four solid punches to the cheek and chin. He grabbed his Uzi and put three well-placed shots in its forehead. It stumbled off of him, but charged again.

"What the hell?!" Nick exclaimed. He fired another burst into the creature, this time into its leg. It collapsed on the ground, but then began crawling towards Nick. Finally, a flurry of rifle shots stopped its advance. Anna stood proudly over her first kill.

"What the hell? I thought they were supposed to die after a headshot!" Nick said.

"Yeah. And they're also supposed to try to eat you. From the looks of it, it just tried to kill you." Abby added.

"Hey guys he doesn't have a bite mark on him. This was not a zombie, or at least not one that was caused by the Solanum virus."

"You're right. The moment I said his name, his eyes got really wide." Nick said

"Well how'd you know his name?" Anna asked

"That was my brother"

_-LATER THAT DAY-_

Nick walked more silently than ever. His eyes screamed glistened with anger. His group walked once more quietly down the street, though this time everyone was quiet. Everyone else's group had said they'd get food, so Nick decided to get "other" supplies. Only one place would have the supplies he was looking for. And as he turned the corner, he knew exactly where he was going. He saw the large building with four decorative columns and steel double doors in the front. The Mar Del Azul Police Station stood proud and tall. Nick walked up and drew his gun. Many people would seek refuge in this building for a host of reasons, security primarily. Nick walked in, crouched and alert. Abby and Anna filed in after him.

The main office was covered in blood, and bodies littered the floor. Bullet holes made dominoes out of the wall, and half-eaten corpses made an odor that would make any man cry. However Nick braved the storm, and walked down the hall. He finally found the room he was looking for.

In a big city, you're liable to find many illegal items. The most incriminating of which are guns. Many forms of Illegal guns were used in gang wars in Mar Del Azul, and most of these weapons were found and locked away at the police station. That is what Nick came for.

He opened the door to the confiscated weapons room and walked in. The walls were covered in weapons of all different shapes, sizes, designs, and colors. Nick dropped his Uzi, as it seemed smaller than ever in this giant room of armament. He looked over and saw an AK-47, and an AK-74, and an M16 assault rifle, even an M1A1 Thompson machine gun. Nick saw the Tommy gun and unhooked it from the wall and its large drum magazine.

Anna took a second before choosing a Sawed-off shotgun and a Desert Eagle. She went into the room to her left and found mounds of ammunition. She took about four boxes of ammo, and proceeded out to load her gun.

Happiest of all was Abby. She dropped the gun she was once in love with, her double-barreled shotgun, and let out a squeal of excitement. In front of her were the two most imposing guns she'd ever laid eyes on. On her right, an Armsel Striker, more commonly known as a Street Sweeper. She grabbed the automatic, 12-gauge shotgun and smiled. And to her left, there was a shotgun she'd never seen before. It was a sawed-off variant, but that's not the imposing part. What peaked her interest was the fact that it had three barrels in a triangular formation. She grabbed it and looked at the side of the golden handle. Etched into the side was the word "Hydra". She also took this gun, and then raided the storage closet for 12-gauge rounds.

"Alright does everyone have what they need?" Nick asked. Everyone nodded.

"Its almost dark. We have to hurry if we want to make it back before nighttime." Anna said wisely. Everyone was in acquiesced, so they quickly left the station. They ran silently down the street, looking up at the falling sun. In the distance, they heard a car alarm go off.

"It sounds like someone found trouble." Abby said.

"Its coming from uptown" Nick said, "I think Shauntell's group was handleing that district. He'd better be alright."

From behind them, a moan was heard. Nick turned too see a growing mob of zombies behind them. From the shambling mob, a few faster ones sprinted out in front. These bore resemblance to the one that had attacked Nick earlier. He pulled out his Thompson and sprayed the horde down with lead, killing or injuring a good many of them. But they drew closer and closer as the group wore down. Suddenly, almost a quarter of them were sent flying back, and then quick powerful bursts took out the rest. Nick looked over. Abby was happy with her new Street Sweeper.

As they ran back, Nick looked over at Anna.

"Hey! You're the nurse here. How come some of the zombies are fast, but the other ones are still slow?"

Anna gave him a confused expression.

"Honestly I'm not sure. But if I had to put my money on it, I'd say that the Virus is mutating into a stronger strain."

They spent the rest of the run home in complete silence.


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Tony stood silently on the broken down car. His ever present, pessimistic scowl dominated his face as the wind blew gently through the barren city street. The image was quite poetic. Granted, of course, there was a slight giggle carried through the air by Tony's two group members. Tony attempted to step forward, but he slipped on the roof of the car, fell off, and subsequently hit the concrete road. The slight giggle exploded into a laugh as Lauren and Geoffrey witnessed Tony's failure to move.

"SHUT UP! THE DAMN CAR TOP WAS SLIPPERY!" Tony yelled. Neither of his companions listened, as they continued laughing hysterically. However they calmed down quickly as they realized exactly what the situation was like. They were in a post-apocalyptic survival situation on an island filled with man-eating zombies. They had but one day to get enough supplies to last them a little under a month's worth of traveling. Not a great situation to be wasting time.

They soon regained their composure and continued on their quest. It became increasingly difficult to find any stores. Most had already been looted, and others were completely locked up from their owners who would never return.

Tony's increasing temper wasn't helping. His frustration was understood, but also it was a cause for concern. If he began doing irrational things, he could potentially endanger himself and everyone who trusted him. He began swearing and yelling when the doors wouldn't open. Lauren tried to calm him, however it was to no avail.

Finally, they came across a place with plenty of food, supplies, and open doors. It was the University of Mar Del Azul. Naturally, Tony opposed going anywhere near the university. Too many people, too many zombies, and too many other problems drabbled out of Tony's mouth, but he couldn't prove his point.

They entered the University with extreme caution. No one in that particular group had attended the school, so they had no idea where they were going. They meandered around until they located the cafeteria. There, they took any food that they could, and they progressed silently. Everything was going smooth until they found the Assembly Center.

Apparently, everyone in the school who chose against evacuating was forced to stay in the assembly center. All that they needed was a single infected person, and everyone was a little bit more than lunch. Unfortunately, no one in Tony's group knew that.

As they entered the massive room, they quickly knew it was a bad idea. The Center was filled with shambling undead bodies and half-eaten bodies. Tony looked at the crowd.

"Shit. Shit. SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" He screamed. The horde all stumbled towards the door. A chorus of hellish moans echoed through the building, and Tony sprinted out of the building. It did not take even a second for Lauren and Geoffrey to follow suit. They ran across the campus in an attempt to ditch the flesh-eaters. No such luck occurred.

They arrived to the dorms to find themselves locked out. They knew that they needed to hide, and it needed to be fast. About then, Geoffrey made a miraculous observation.

"Hey! The primate research center is right over there! Let's go!" Geoffrey said. There was no time to discuss the safety or choices. They followed him to that building, which was unlocked. They entered and quickly closed and locked the door behind them. After, they progressed down a long hallway.

"It's creepy in here…" Geoffrey began. When no one answered, he understood the seriousness of the moment. They proceeded wordlessly down the hall. Finally, they arrived at the central testing room. The door was sealed from the other side. Lauren attempted to open it, but knew it was futile.

"Damn. So are we just going to stay here until sunset?" She asked. No one answered. Suddenly, there was noise behind the door.

"Hello? Is there someone there?" a voice asked. It sounded weak and tired.

"Who are you?" Tony barked. Lauren gave him a threatening look, and he immediately backed off. She then switched to a more soothing tone, and attempted to talk to the man.

"What is your name?"

"Why should I tell you? I'd rather not get attached to people who will soon be dead."

This was clearly not the response Lauren was hoping for. She continued:

"Alright then. Can you tell us what's going on?"

"Yes. I can. But it'd be better if you didn't know. The knowledge would simply burden you until eventually go crazy and die anyway."

Lauren frowned. She turned towards Tony.

"I give up. Your turn."

Tony smirked and walked to the door.

"Look. I've had a long day. I'm pissed off, and I've got zombies chasing me. I don't need to know your name. All you need to do is tell me what the hell is going on before I break this door down and blow your damn head off." He said calmly. A sigh could be heard through the door.

"Alright if you want to know what's going on, then you obviously have intentions on surviving this ordeal. Look my name is Max Brooks. I'm a scientist here at UMDA. And I… I created the Solanum Virus."

Tony's jaw dropped. He was talking to the man who was responsible for murdering thousands of people. He was shaking as the scientist continued.

"It was completely unintentional. We were testing different chemicals and what effects they had with tumors in the brain. Obviously, this chemical failed. After the disease got out, we tried to come up with an antidote. This only made a mutated form of the virus. It went from extreme hunger, to extreme rage. "

"So what do we do?" Tony asked, the determination loosening from his voice.

"Go to the research room to your right. On the table is a book. I wrote it myself from the last week or so in surviving this situation. It's the big black journal. Add to it as you go along. I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to continue writing in it much longer. It's a guide to surviving a zombie attack"

Geoffrey had already made his way into the room. He grabbed the book, and afterwards, Max refused to speak anymore. Tony read some of the pages of the journal, intrigued by the information inside. After about an hour, they left the research center, and ultimately left the University completely.

Upon arriving at the hotel, they slept. Tony in particular slept hard. It was the best part of his day.


	10. Chapter Nine

Yeah. I haven't updated in forever and a half. Sorry. If anyone still reads, please enjoy and give me some feedback.

Chapter Nine

Joe clung onto the side of the vehicle for dear life. What was once used as an armored car for a SWAT team was now a make-shift tank. The front bumper now included a large rack of spinning spikes, and a hole in the roof was now a swiveling .45 caliber machine gun. The once shining blue paint on the sides on the dented sides of the car was now dulled and tinted a dark red color.

This was the first of a series of armored cars in a caravan that charged its way into the western-most end of Tobias. Some were simply sedans that had a bit extra metal on the sides. Others were SUV's that had turned into military quality armored transports. One flatbed truck had been completely covered in metal, with rows upon rows of seats on the inside and gun ports on the side.

Joe sat in the gunner's turret of the first SWAT car. His head shook violently as highway blacktop turned to city potholes. Without even being a mile into the city, he could tell that this was a bad idea. Within the car, he could hear someone make a joke. But no joke could truly lighten the situation.

As they went deeper into the city, the true nature of their environment hit like a stone. Wrecked cars, open fires, broken windows and bodies could be seen on every block. Baracades that once attempted to close off certain roads were now open and had long since been abandoned. On a giant sign that once read "Welcome to Tobias", someone had spraypainted "Welcome to Hell". With the fires around him burning high, hot, and bright, Joe felt like no place could better describe the scene better.

A turned-over tanker blocked off a street, which naturally was the way to get to the docks. Joe's crew got out and looked for an alternate path, and he was granted a temporary reprieve from his position atop the SWAT car. The glow of the sun slowly diminished from the sky, replaced by a multitude of smaller glows from the fires in and about the city.

Joe was assigned to take the Midnight watch, which meant he had plenty of time to sleep before he was responsible for the safety of nearly 50 survivors. He sat in his sleeping bag in the SWAT car and cleaned his gun. He knew that this could a bigger difference than many people thought, such as the difference between being alive and being a human Happy Meal.

He locked, loaded, and safely put up his favored gun, a Raging Bull with a red-dot scope. It was a gift from his father, and it had saved his life on more than one occasion. His family crest was engraved in the butt, and his name was on the barrel. It was a nice gun with a nasty punch, which is what made Joe continue to use it over a rifle or longer ranged gun.

He placed it aside and picked up his journal. He wrote in his journal, as he did every night. He looked at his bookmark, which was a picture of his girlfriend, who had lived in Union City when the virus hit. He wanted so desperately to see if she had made it out alive, or if she would become another statistic.

He placed it back in the book, and began writing under the heading "Day 34". The simple journey to Tobias from Bull Run had taken nearly 5 weeks, which was much longer than anticipated. He wondered about those people he had helped save from that small town. The moment he learned that they were headed for Union City, he wanted to go with them. But he felt safer with a larger group of people.

He wrote down what had happened that day and described his diminishing hope. Slowly he began to tire, until he lay his book and pen down beside him and drifted off to sleep. His dreams were plagued with visions of his girlfriend. He saw her running from a zombie.

"Hold on! Livie hold on I'll save you!" Joe cried. He went to draw his family pistol but it wasn't there. He began to run after her, but she simply faded into the distance.  
"NO! Livie come back! Livie!" Joe began to collapse into a weeping heap on the ground. Zombies closed in around him, but he made no attempt to move. He felt as if he had nothing to live for anymore.

Right before they began to maul him, he awoke to the sound of screams and gunfire. This was obviously not a good sign. He grabbed his pistol and opened the door. The makeshift camp was a war zone, and the enemy was winning. He saw his red headed leader running toward him. He aimed at her head level and she ducked as he fired. The shell shot through the two skulls of the hungry carnivoric beings behind her.

"Joe, get in the SWAT car. NOW!" She said.

"What about the others?"

"If you want to end up in the stomach of your friends then stay."

"No. Shouldn't we save who we can?"

"Ok. That would be you and me. Now get in and shoot. I'll drive" she said without a flinch.

Joe could tell that there was no compromise in this. He jumped into the turret seat of the car and began mowing down those who were his friends merely an hour ago. The car rapidly took off and ran over all in its path, infected or otherwise.

After they got out of the city, Joe turned back and looked at Tobias. The fires burned brighter than ever, and he couldn't help but remember the sign that called the city Hell. With only himself and his leader having escaped, he couldn't help agree that it was indeed a place damned by God.


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter 10

Shauntell looked at his friends all sleeping. Unfortunately he could not sleep. Rest was hard to find, but alas he could not capitalize on the opportunity. He was restless, but there was no true explanation as to why. He simply stood in the doorway, staring out the window.

He made his way up to the top of the hotel. He walked to the side and looked up. There was the sky, and its ever present stars. It reminded him of a simpler time, just a few weeks prior. He remembered running down the field for the go-ahead win under this very same sky. He remembered parties and cook-outs, he recalled everything that he missed about his old life.

Now, his money wasn't worth anything. His stardom mattered to no one, and his status was virtually gone. What mattered now was two things: Will and Speed. He had both. The will to survive, and the speed to get him to that point. He could easily have been to the drop off zone inside of two weeks. However his friends had hindered them with their incesant bickering and detours.

At this point he began to think. Was the safety of his friends worth his own? His friends meant almost everything to him. They had always been there when he needed him. They had always supported him, even when it may have been a decision not worth making. How could he be so selfish as to forsake them in a time like this?

But perhaps it wasn't selfish-ness so much as selfless-ness. Why put them through such a arduous and rigorous task when he didn't need to? Why put them through all the emotional and physical pain when he didn't have to? Such thoughts crept into his mind.

As he was thinking, the door behind him slowly opened. Shauntell pulled out his pistol and aimed, but he did not find an evil creature. It was instead only Missy. She put up her hands and spoke with a slight grin.

"Do I look dead to you? Relax I won't disturb your... whatever it is you're doing."

Shuantell slowly lowered his gun. He sighed and turned around. He continued to think about options when he noticed a form lay down next to him. She spoke without indication after a few minutes.

"I come up here every night. I look at the stars. It's relaxing to me." She said without ever looking at Shauntell. It was if she was speaking to herself.

"I even did this before the virus hit. Every night I used to sit in my yard with Geoffrey and we would just look at the stars."

Shauntell sat down and spoke, "I just had a lot on my mind."

"And did the stars help?" Missy asked.

"Before you got here? Yes." Shauntell replied coldly.

"You want me to leave?"

Shauntell thought about the unintended importance of this question. Missy couldn't have imagined how much that question actually weighed down on Shuantell. Did he really want to be alone?

"No. Its alright. I'm just a bit frustrated."

"Why?"

"You mean besides the fact that I'm running for my life from something straight out of a Sci-Fi movie?"

"Oh... good point. But thats something we all have to deal with. Its not like your the only one. We all have to deal with this."

Shauntell couldn't argue with that.

"I just want everything back. I want to go back to how everything was. I'm tired of this. Sometimes I just want to stop running. I just want to give up."

"Why? It might be easier to you. But what about to your friends? They've been looking up to you. They've been depending on you. You've lead them this far. How could you leave them now?"

Shauntell thought about the question. But finally, he formulated an answer.

"I couldn't... wow. You're good." Shauntell said. For the first time in weeks he cracked a smile.

She gave him a quick pat on the back and said, "Yeah. I know."

Shortly after she left. Shauntell's face retained the grin as he stood up and walked to the stairwell. He found his way down to the room with his friends and curled up in the corner. His mind now settled, he drifted off into sleep.


End file.
